As in the Nortec Collective, a group of electronica deejays from Tijuana. Nortec is their name for a new genre of electronic music combining the traditional (read: touristy) norteño music of Tijuana with techno picked up from nearby California radio stations.

When the deejays first tried to bring techno music to their Mexican peers, the result was less than successful. Eventually, however, they hit on the perfect way to localize the music: throw out all the overtly American and European sounds and replace them with the drums, maracas, acoustic guitars, and brass horns that were common to Tijuana's mariachi bands. Norteño music had become so traditional it was now kitsch to the ears of most Tijuana natives, but that made it only more appropriate to the deejays.

They started mixing and gave their new style a name: nortec, a combination of "norteño" and "techno", old mariachi bands and modern electronic music. And it's a whole lot better than it sounds like it should be.

See also: http://www.nor-tec.org